Meeting Coach Liz

I mentioned that I have a new coach, but I don't think I mentioned that I LOVE working with her! (don't worry, Liz, this is not a stalker situation...)
So far, she has provided excellent information, training and advice, and I can really tell that it's helping! Anyway, we hadn't met in person until I came in for the triathlon. Liz arranged to meet me for a swim at the "beach" in Naperville on Friday evening.
I was a little nervous about our first meeting - not just the actual meeting of her, but having her watch me swim, etc. - oh the pressure! ha ha Centennial Beach was our meeting spot. It's a really different area - but cool for hanging out/workouts. I don't prefer it for the race because there are like 5 turns to the swim course. It's been chilly here in the Chicago area, so at the last minute (and after consulting with coach) I threw the wetsuit in the car. I was happy to have that wetsuit as the water was pretty chilly! I swam for 30 minutes or so, and then they blew the whistle for everyone to get out. They do these safety checks periodically to ensure parents know where their children are...checking to see if anyone's at the bottom of the quarry (ha ha)...so, I hopped out of the water and went up to grab my water bottle.
As I was heading back down to the water, I spotted Chris - Liz's husband - standing down on the deck in his wetsuit. I immediately recognized him from Liz's blog and facebook (see there - these things aren't a waste of time!). So, like a big nerd, I pointed at him and said...you're Chris...Liz's husband...I'm meeting her here...
I wasn't expecting to see them already in the water, so it threw me off a bit. Oh well, nothing like acting stupid at first meeting someone, right? :-)
Liz came over and the three of us chatted for a couple minutes. Finally, the safety check was over and it was time to swim for the coach! I jumped in the water and swam down/back while she stood on the deck watching me. I was nervous to hear the feedback. After 2 down and backs, I stopped at the wall like a puppy with its tongue hanging out, waiting for her comments. She hopped in with me and told me that I was actually a good swimmer. Whew. Hearing those words was such a relief! Of course, she told me not to change anything for Sunday's race, but did provide me with some excellent feedback on a few things I could improve. I'm eager to get to work on those things.
We stayed in the water and swam around to different piers in the pool - even climbed up a couple and proceeded to dive off into the water. That worked the first time, but I knocked my goggles off on the 2nd dive...smooth! Anyway, it was fun.
We all cleaned up and decided to drive the race course (bike and run). This was good, as I realized it had changed a bit from the last time I raced it. After driving the courses, Liz and Chris kindly invited me to tag along with them and get a bit to eat - and treated - how nice! It was great getting to know them and talking through my race plan, etc. After dinner we walked all around downtown Naperville, and stopped in at Naperville Running company - cool store and a neat little town. It was a good time!
Why didn't I take a picture???